


Nature's Gift

by Elysian_Abyss



Category: One Piece
Genre: Adventure, Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Animals, Anxiety Disorder, Attempt at Humor, Best Friends, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, British Sign Language, Burns, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Childhood, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Demigods, Developing Friendships, Diary/Journal, Dreams and Nightmares, Families of Choice, Family Fluff, Fear, Fire, Flashbacks, Fluff, Friendship, Goddesses, Gods, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Grief/Mourning, Haki (One Piece), Healing, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Imprisonment, Injury, Inspired by Greek Mythology, Isolation, Kidnapping, Loss of Control, Loss of Parent(s), Manga & Anime, Memories, Memory Loss, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mount Olympus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates As Family, Multiple Religion & Lore Sources, Muteness, Nakama, Nakamaship, Nature, Nature Goddess, Nature Magic, Nature Manipulation, No Romance, No beta we die like ace, Nonverbal Communication, Not Beta Read, One Piece Spoilers, One Piece Universe, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Death, Parent-Child Relationship, Pirates, Plants, Post-Time Skip, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Time Skip, Protective Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates, Pyrophobia, Recovered Memories, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Sacred Trees, Selective Muteness, Sign Language, Slightly Inspired by Percy Jackson (Just a bit), Spoilers, Stupidity, Superstition, Survivor Guilt, Swearing, Tags Contain Spoilers, Trauma, Tree Climbing, original child character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24250039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elysian_Abyss/pseuds/Elysian_Abyss
Summary: Solstice was only three when the World Government put a bounty on her head for the power that flows through her veins. They accused her of crimes she could not possibly have committed and painted her out to be a dangerous monster to cover their own backs. For years, she was shunned by her village and hunted by those who were out for her blood.After escaping from the Marines during a storm, Solstice is rescued by a pirate crew who may just be the people she needs to be set free.Current Arc: Delos Island.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	1. Arc Index

Delos Island: **Current arc.**


	2. The Little Girl Lost at Sea

Solstice looked out of the window onto the crashing waves outside, a grim look on her face. The rain battered rapidly against the window, the wind howling like a banshee. 

She had never been on a ship before, but she had already decided she didn't like it. Not this ship, at least, not when she knew who else was on it and why she was there.

She knew how this was going to end, and she wanted no part in it. Nothing good would come from starting a war, especially not with the Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus.

She, sort of, understood _why_ they were doing this, but that didn't make the situation any better. The outcome wouldn't improve just because they had reasons to start a war, and, to be completely honest, she didn't think any of their reasons were very good, then again, she didn't know what it was like to be unclaimed for most - if not all - your life; her mother had claimed her at birth after all. Many Gods and Goddesses just ignored their children for their whole lives until they did something worth their attention. Often, however, that never happened.

Though, in the long run, whether she was a willing participant in their plan or not wouldn't matter in the slightest, nor would who her mother was. She did not doubt one bit that she would be punished with them if everything went according to plan their plan. 

Her arms still hurt from what they had done to her the second they got on the ship. She wouldn't be surprised if her arms were bruised from where they had dug the needles in to draw blood. She winced at the memory and worried at her bottom lip to stop herself from crying.

She was broken from her train of thought by the sound of footsteps approaching "her" room. 

Solstice ran from where she had been standing by the window and over to behind the door. She pushed herself against the wall so whoever came in wouldn't see her, and she could hopefully sneak passed them.

'Hey, I brought your food.'

The girl held her breath and pressed her body as hard as she could against the wall. Her heart pounded hard against her ribcage, and she squeezed her eyes shut tight, praying he wouldn't see her as the door slammed open, the marine barging into the room. She bit down on her lip to stop herself from making a sound after the door smacked her in the face.

'Where are you hiding? Come out this instant!' He demanded, looking around the room for any trace of the little girl. 'Look, it's no use trying to escape. We're at sea. You're stuck, so just come out!'

Obviously, she wasn't going to do as he told her or let the fact they were at sea stop her. Once she figured out a way off this boat, she was sure she could get back home no problem. 

She peaked out from behind the door cautiously, making sure the Marines back was to her before she made a run out the door. She let out a small gasp as she toppled to the floor after tripping over her own feet and landing face-first against the hard ground.

She whimpered as she sat up and rubbed her face, attempting to soothe the aching feeling that had spread itself through her face. She could feel blood beginning to drip from her nose. 

She felt herself get lifted off the ground by the back of her hoodie and timidly looked up, only to be met with the face of an incredibly annoyed Marine. 

'Try that again, and I'll have you pinned to the wall,' he threatened her, lifting her further off the ground. 'The best way not to get hurt is to stay put.'

"Staying put" was what was going to end up getting her killed, nevermind hurt! No way was she just going to stand by and just let them go through with this! 

She pulled the meanest face she could muster before she began thrashing around in his grasp, doing her best to make him drop her, although it didn't appear to be doing her any good as her flailing seemed to be getting her nowhere in a hurry. 

That was until she landed a hard kick between his legs that caused the man to freeze and drop her as he presumably went through all five stages of grief in a matter of seconds, tears welling at the corners of his eyes.

She scrambled away from him and pressed herself against the wall opposite. She eyed him for a second or two, making sure he wasn't going to be much of a problem for her now he was otherwise occupied. Wiping the golden blood from her nose, she checked both sides of the hall for more Marines. When there was none to be seen, she closed her eyes and tried to feel where there were the least Marines possible. She knew she didn't have much time, so she had to make her mind up quickly.

She could hear them looking for her all over the ship as she ran through the empty halls of the vessel. She edged open a door on the main deck and peaked out, looking for an opening for her to make her escape. She saw a small rowboat sitting on the deck and decided to make a run for it. 

If she could find a way to get it in the water and not have it capsize on her, she could most likely find her way back home. She had learned the trick to finding the island from Oriya a while ago. How hard could it be?

She shook her head like the action would force any doubts from her mind and made a run for the rowboat.

She hadn't taken into account that the rain-soaked deck would make keeping her footing a near-impossible task. She slipped onto her back and slid across the deck, colliding headfirst into the side of the rowboat. She groaned in pain as she pushed herself up using the edge of the boat. 

Much to her misfortune, the loud clatter that resounded from her crashing against the boat drew the Marines attention and gave away where she was.

With her attention on the bump to the head she just got, it had taken her a moment or two to notice they had spotted her. She forced herself over the rowboat and clambered up onto the gun deck. She looked around quickly for somewhere she could hide. Her eyes landed on the mizzenmast, and she deemed it to be her best bet.

She scampered up the mast as fast as she could, scared the wind would carry her away. Below her, she could hear the Marines yelling at her to _"come down"_ , that it was _"too high"_.

She began to panic when she realised she had unintentionally trapped herself at the top of the mast. Her stormy green eyes searched around for something that could help her in any way. Her heart nearly leapt out her chest when she saw the dagger conveniently left up there. She immediately grabbed it and began slashing away at the ropes leading up to her, causing the Marines climbing up to plummet to the ground and the mast to sway.

She clung to the mast with every ounce of strength she could muster as the mast toppled over and collided into the one beside it, biting the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from screaming bloody murder.

She could feel the ship leaning to one side due to the loss of one of the sails, the storm threatening to capsize them. Using the mast to steady herself, the girl stood and looked over the side. She let out a small gasp when she saw the rowboat had fallen into the water, hope flooding her chest like a tsunami.

All she had to do was jump.

Placing a hand over her chest, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Silently praying to almost every God and Goddess she could think of, her mother in particular. She banished every thought that went against her making this jump. She knew all too well what would happen if the Marines got a hold of her again.

The ship tilted further, and the mast began to fall once again. Figuring now was as good a time as any, the girl jumped and let herself fall towards the water.

The second she hit the water was like getting hit in the gut. Cold flooded her system in an icy shock as she gasped for breath, the saltwater burning her lungs and throat. The wind and rain seemed to have grown fiercer as they slammed against her small body, making it almost seem like thousands of tiny daggers were piercing her skin. 

She fought tooth and nail to keep her head above the water for a good few minutes as the sea tried its damnedest to swallow her whole. Her body was growing numb from the freezing water, and fatigue had gripped onto her like a vice. She cursed those awful Marines with all she had for what they had done to her.

She could see the rowboat just out of her reach, bobbing atop the waves as it too fought to stay afloat. She knew it was her only hope if she wanted to survive. Although her body was screaming at her to give in as she struggled to swim towards the little boat, her stubbornness wouldn't allow it. 

She was determined to survive, no matter what it took.

* * *

 _One day later.  
_ _The Going Merry, East Blue._

The storm had long since passed and had given way to a beautiful day. The sun was shining warmly, and the waves were calm. It was almost as if the storm had never happened.

'Nami!' Luffy called to the red-headed navigator. 'Shouldn't we reach the Grandline soon?'   
'What do you think?' Nami asked rhetorically, looking up from her map. 'We just left Loguetown two days ago. It'll take some time before we get there. Just be patient.'  
'Kay!' Luffy grinned widely, laughing to himself.

Just across from them, Sanji was leaning on the railing of the ship and having a smoke. Zoro was sat next to him, dead asleep with his back against the rail.

'Feel that sunshine,' the blond commented. 'With weather like this, it almost makes it seem like that storm was all a bad dream.'

Up in the Crow's nest, Usopp was looking through his telescope out onto the water. As he scanned the horizon, he spotted a flock of birds swarming something floating in the water.

'Huh, what the heck is that?' he wondered before calling down to the rest of the crew. 'Hey! I see a flock of birds starboard!'  
'Are you sure?' Luffy questioned him, looking up towards where the long-nosed sniper was.  
'Yeah,' Usopp confirmed. 'And they're surrounding something. I can't make it out exactly, but it's big. I wonder what it is.'  
'Maybe it's a fish?' the captain suggested, craning his neck to see what it was.  
'Maybe, or... a small boat? A fish? I don't know,' Usopp guessed, trying to get a better look of what it was with his goggles.  
'I've heard it's common for sea birds to flock above fish and even trail them,' Sanji informed them.  
'It is?!' Luffy asked excitedly.  
'That's right,' Sanji told him. 'Sounds like lunch to me.'  
'You said it!' Luffy agreed as he stood up from on top of the figurehead of the Going Merry. 'Gum-Gum...' Luffy drew his arm back, and the limb stretched a long distance behind him before it shot forward out toward where the flock of sea birds had gathered. 'Grab!'  
'Woah! Now, that's a stretch!' Usopp exclaimed in awe.  
'It never gets old,' Sanji added.  
'I caught it!' Luffy exclaimed when he grabbed on to whatever the birds had been swarming around, scaring the creatures away in the process. 'C'mere!'

He pulled the stretched out limb back as if it were a fishing line, and his arm came shooting back towards them at a startling speed.

'It seems pretty big!' the strawhat wearing pirate assumed.  
'Nice one, Luffy,' Nami cheered.  
'You're reeling in fast,' Sanji warned the black-haired captain. 'Dail it down, or we're gonna-'

Before he could finish his sentence, the blond cook had to dive to the floor to avoid being struck by the speeding limb. Zoro, who had been asleep throughout it all, wasn't as lucky. Luffy's arm crashed into the swordsman and sent him flying off the ship and into the ocean, while whatever Luffy had grabbed hit the deck with a " _thud_ ".

'Oh, I'm sorry,' the onyx haired teen apologised, looking over to where Zoro had gone.  
'Dumbass!' Sanji cursed as he stood, fists clenched.

The crew - except for Zoro - gathered around what - or who - Luffy had grabbed from the flock of sea birds.

'That's no kind of fish I've ever seen,' Sanji remarked, looking down at the girl lying unconscious on the deck.  
'That's no fish,' Nami stated, shocked. 'It's a girl.'  
'Oh, a fishperson? Where's her webs?' Luffy questioned as he approached them.   
'A fishperson?' Usopp repeated, giving his captain a look. 'You idiot, she's just a little kid.'  
'Why would someone leave a child in the middle of the ocean like that?' the red-headed woman wondered. 'It makes no sense...'

* * *

_A few hours later._

Solstice awoke with a small gasp, her eyes snapping open in a panicked frenzy. She could feel her face was damp from the tears that ran down her cheeks. Her waking up crying wasn't exactly new, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with.

She wiped away her tears and looked around, only to become more frantic as she realised she didn't recognise where she was.

The room was small and dark, and the more she looked at it, the smaller the room seemed to become. She wasn't able to see much with how dark it was, and while she wasn't one to scare easily, she could feel the fear grabbing onto her with an iron grip at the mere prospect of having been captured by the Marines again.

At that thought, she rolled up her sleeves and rapidly felt up her arms for new marks; she almost sighed with relief when she realised that there weren't any new additions to the already vast collection on her arms. 

That little detail gave her some reassurance that the Marines hadn't captured her again. It did, however, make her wonder, if this wasn't a Marine ship, who's ship was it? 

She felt her throat tighten, her brain coming up with a million and one different scenarios that would more than likely never come to pass. 

She pulled her hood up over her head and tugged the drawstrings, closing the hood and making only her eyes were visible, long hair sticking out every which way and having to be manoeuvred back into the hood. 

The smell of apples and rain hit her the second she pulled the hood up, making all her worries vanish in an instant. Her hoodie meant the world to her; she barely ever took it off. It was one of the only things she had left of her father in this world.

She kicked off the blanket and swung her legs over the side of the bed, her feet becoming like her eyes in the dark once they touched the wooden floor. Closing her eyes, she felt for vibrations. 

She could count no more than five people on the ship. However, she wasn't entirely sure where they were due to the vessels constant movement. Had she been on solid ground, this would have been a lot more accurate.

She jumped at the sudden sound the door made as it opened, filling the dim room with light, and almost fell off the bed completely. She could feel her heart start battering against her chest once again, the fear coming back with a vengeance. Even although she knew all too well that she would be easily spotted in that room, she hoped that whoever just came in didn't see her or maybe just ignored her presence entirely.

'You're awake. That was quicker than I expected.'

Of course, that wouldn't happen.

Timidly, the child looked towards the voice, her hood still up and hiding her face. It took her a second to realise how ridiculous she must look, the thought bringing her to pull her hood down and try to at least act normal. Although she made no effort to shift the curtain of brown hair that fell over the left side of her face.

The woman that had walked in was slim and had short, orange hair. She wore a sleeveless blue top with a criss-cross pattern across it and a dark blue heart in the middle of her chest.

'I'm Nami,' the woman introduced herself as she walked over to the child and sat beside her. 'Are you hurt anywhere?'

The girl shook her head quickly. The wounds on her arms were minor at best, and her body tended to heal quicker than most, so they were not worth mentioning in the slightest.

'That's good,' Nami smiled. 'I'm guessing you were shipwrecked? You _are_ lucky, you could have been in big trouble if we hadn't found you, but you'll be alright now. What's your name?'

The girl froze, unsure of how to respond to that question in a way the ginger could understand. The most obvious way would be to use sign language, but she wasn't sure if Nami would understand. The Marines had taken away the notebook and pencil she used when sign hadn't been an option, so that was obviously out of the question. She could talk... Although, she wasn't sure what the consequences of that would be at sea. A seaquake? Or would it cause a tsunami? She had known for a long time that her voice was a dangerous thing, especially after what happened. 

Making up her mind as quick as she could, she figured sign would be her best option.

 _'Sol,'_ she signed slowly, using the shortened version of her name instead of having to go through it all only for Nami not to have a clue as to what she was telling her.  
'Sol,' Nami repeated with a smile as she stood and offered the girl her hand. 'Come on, we'll let the boys know you're awake. I'm sure you must be hungry, too.'

She was filled with a sense of relief upon learning that Nami knew sign. She didn't know what she would have done if Nami hadn't been able to understand her. Solstice gave a little nod and shuffled off the bed, taking the hand offered to her with the hand that didn't have scars. The offer of food sounded too good to refuse.

Her relief was soon replaced by nervousness as she followed the woman out of the room, doing her best not to trip over her own feet as she did. Her heart was pounding like a drum yet again, and it wouldn't surprise her if anyone could hear it from a mile away.

It wasn't until she felt more eyes on her that her anxiety hit her like a lightning strike. She did her best to hold her head up and at least appear less like she was going to throw up out of nervousness, despite how desperately she wanted to vanish.

'Guys, look who's awake. This is Sol,' Nami spoke up before she looked down at the young girl. 'The one over there in the kitchen is Sanji.'

Sanji, a man with blond hair covering his left eye and an odd-shaped eyebrow, turned around to face them for a moment at the mention of his name. 

'Hi,' he greeted before he turned back around.  
'That's Zoro,' Nami pointed out, gesturing to the green-haired man sitting against the wall on the floor with three swords leaning against the wall beside him. 'And despite his scowl, he's a good guy.'  
'Shut up.'  
'And that's Usopp,' Nami finished, ignoring the swordsman's remark, nodding to the young man with black curly hair and a long nose.  
'I'm Luffy,' the man wearing the strawhat spoke up, grinning widely. 'And I'm the captain of this pirate ship. We're on our way to the Grand Line.'

Somehow, Solstice managed to conceal her surprise at the news that these people were pirates. She had heard plenty about how awful and terrifying pirates were from Oriya, but, in all fairness, those stories were told more out of admiration than fear. She found it hard to believe that these people were pirates. Then again, she had just met them. She knew absolutely nothing about them aside from their names. 

Although she supposed they _had_ saved her from what undoubtedly would have been a death sentence if she had remained adrift at sea, so maybe that stereotype didn't apply to them, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and all that. 

She hadn't realised she was still holding Nami's hand until the woman began moving towards the table, bringing Solstice to follow after her. A barrel was pulled over to the end of the table for the child to sit on.

'So, what're we supposed to do with her?' Zoro asked, sounding less than interested.  
'I'm not sure. I'll have to think it over,' Luffy replied uncertainly, shrugging before deciding. 'We can deal with this tomorrow.'

Somehow, despite having just learned that they were pirates, Solstice felt she could trust them, or maybe she just hoped she could, and, in time, they would prove themselves to be everything pirates were said to be. She was sure she would find out which soon enough.

* * *

 _The same day.  
_ _Commodore Raven Mercer's Flagship._

Commodore Raven let out a roar of outrage that shook the room as he slammed his fist down onto the table.

'What kind of report is this?' he snarled. 'How could a whole fleet of well-trained Marines lose a ten-year-old girl?! I gave you imbeciles one - one - job! How could you have possibly screwed that up?!'

The Commodore rose from his seat and seized the young man by the collar, a murderous glint in his blood-red eyes.

'Do you have any idea how this will affect our plan!? I should have you executed for treason!' the raven-haired man screamed. 'That girl is the only source of ichor we have managed to find in almost a decade. Losing her will ruin years worth of planning! Do you even understand what your incompetence has done?!'  
'Y-yes, sir! My apologies, sir! We have everyone out searching for her. She couldn't have gotten far, sir!' the young man stammered, his whole body trembling in fear of the enraged Commodore.  
'You better hope you find her,' the man threatened. 'Or else, it'll be your neck in the noose.'  
'Ye-yes, Commodore Raven, sir!' 

The Commodore harshly threw the young man to the floor and stalked back over to his seat, falling back into it with an enormous thud that shook the ground.

'Levi!' Commodore Raven called, his booming voice echoing throughout the whole ship. 'Levi! Get over here now!'  
'You don't need to shout that loud. I have been standing here the whole time,' Levi sneered, appearing out from the shadows, you know, as a creep would. 'I'm not deaf.'

Raven glanced at the mercenary with malice, his lip curled.

'I will have your head before I lose the only source of ichor I have,' he snapped. 'You are going to join my fleet and find that little brat. I don't care if you rough her up; just don't kill her! I need her heart pumping, and I clearly can't trust any of these fools to do that.'  
'I'll do my best, sir,' Levi rolled his eyes. 'But, I have to admit, when I agreed to our contract, I wasn't aware I'd be doing your dirty work.'  
'Then, by all means, walk away,' Raven retorted with a sneer. 'Just remember, if you want to get to Olympus and have your little _heart to heart_ with your dear old dad. You'll do as I say.'  
'Of course, _sir,_ ' the merc almost snarled, his blood boiling. 'I'll have that brat back in no time.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, gals and non-binary pals! I'm sorry that this has taken so long to update. My life has been a little hectic as of late, and it has been a little difficult to make time to just sit down and write. I promise to try and get new chapters up on a more regular basis. Kudos and comments are always appreciated and always give me that little bit more motivation to keep writing.
> 
> Solstice's arc, which I have taken to calling the "Delos Island Arc", takes place when the Warship Island arc is supposed to, meaning her arc replaces that one.
> 
> Feel free to check out my Tumblr, where I will be posting artwork I have made for my stories and various other things: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/elysian-abyss  
> I think that's everything. Hope you all are doing okay and are staying safe during these times. ^J^


	3. The Calm Belt

'So, why were you adrift at sea? Were you shipwrecked?' Nami questioned her gently.  
 _'I escaped from the Marines,'_ Solstice answered hesitantly, nervous in case the mention of the Marine's would make them turn her back in. _'They took me from my island and were holding me captive.'  
_ 'The Marines?' Nami repeated, shocked that a little girl would be a prisoner of the Marines.  
She nodded slowly before signing, _'I got away a few nights ago.'_ _  
_'A few nights ago? That was during the storm,' the ginger woman cooed. 'Your little boat didn't stand a chance.'

Solstice lowered her head a little. She hadn't thought of that at the time of her escape, having been far more focused on actually getting away. Now that it had been pointed out how little thought had been put into her "master plan", she felt a little embarrassed.

'How did you get in trouble in the first place? They had to have held you prisoner for a reason,' Zoro spoke up, eying her warily. 'What could a little girl like you possibly gotten into that got the attention of the Marines? Everyone knows they're a bunch of twits, but I still can't imagine them labelling you an enemy. What'd you do?'

Solstice felt herself freeze up, anxiety washing over her like a cold wave. She couldn't possibly tell the truth! There was no way they would believe what she had to say anyway. Who in their right mind would think she was the daughter of a Primordial Goddess? That the Marines wanted to use her blood to start a war with the Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus? They would think she was crazy.

_'I can't talk about it...'_ she gestured, shaking her head.

She wasn't exactly lying. She really wasn't meant to talk about it. There wasn't much she could say without giving everything about her people away to outsiders. Now that she thought about it, she was already an outcast on her island. Would it matter if she let something slip? 

Solstice frowned at that thought. Obviously, it would matter! How could she even think like that? Even though most of the people on her island didn't treat her very nicely, her revealing anything about her people would put Oriya at risk, and that was the last thing she would want! Oriya was the only one on that island that she was bothered about protecting.

'You mean you can't tell us?' Ussop inquired, also curious to know the reason.

Solstice, somehow, lowered her head further, their harmless questioning making her more uncomfortable by the second. She didn't understand it, but she felt guilty for not being able to tell them anything. It wasn't that she didn't want to; she wanted to be honest, really she did, but it was an unspoken rule of sorts on her island not to talk about certain things with outsiders, especially the existence of demigods and the like. She knew the history behind that rule. Everyone who came from her island did. They had to unless they wanted the past to become the future once again.

'Easy, easy, what's the big deal? She must have her reasons,' Sanji interjected, turning away from the sink while drying his hands. 'If she doesn't want to say we shouldn't press her.'  
'Yes, I agree,' Nami added. 'But it would be helpful if you would at least tell us where you're from.'  
 _'Delos,'_ she signed quickly. _'I'm from Delos Island.'_  
'Delos Island?' Nami echoed.  
'Do you know it?' Ussop asked the navigator.  
'No, but it should be labelled on the map.'

Nami pulled out a map and looked it over for a moment, a frown taking form on her face. Solstice could take a wild guess as to why that was; Delos wasn't on regular maps, not if they hadn't originated from the island itself. 

_'Delos can't be found on a regular map,'_ she signed once she gained the woman's attention. _'It follows the wolf, Lupus.'  
_ 'What do you mean the island follows the wolf?' Nami asked, looking at the child curiously, a little dubious of that statement.

Solstice hesitated, her brain working hard to come up with an understandable explanation that wouldn't expose everything about Delos.

_'The island moves with the wolf constellation, Lupus,'_ she explained. _'It comes to a stand-still for about a week every few months. The Marines took me on the first day of the stand-still.'_

Solstice shuffled off of the barrel and pointed to a spot on the map that looked to just be open water. It had only been about four days since she was taken. Delos shouldn't have moved at all. If for some reason, it had moved, her guess wouldn't have been that far off.

_'Here,'_ she tapped the spot for emphasis. _'Delos will be here.'  
_ 'Well then, we're here. So, if Sol is right about where the island is, the distance between Delos Island and us is reasonable.' Nami pointed to a different spot on the map. 'What do you want to do, Sol? We can take you back to your island. We're headed to the Grandline, but it's no problem for us to drop you off.'  
 _'Thank you...'_ Solstice began, lowering her head once again. _'You've all been so kind to me. I can't ask you to go out of you're way like that to get me home. Maybe you could hand me to a ship heading that way? I'm sure I can handle myself from there.'_

She didn't want to become a burden to them by making them take her back to Delos. She hadn't even expected them to offer to take her home. She wasn't actually sure what she expected them to do with her. Hand her back over to the Marines, perhaps?

'No way, absolutely not,' Nami insisted, shaking her head. 'Anyway, a pirate ship can't even get close to another vessel without them attacking out of blind fear.'

She suddenly felt incredibly stupid for suggesting such a thing. How could she have forgotten they were pirates?

_'Oh, you're right,'_ she signed sheepishly. _'I'm sorry...'  
_ 'Still, Delos Island isn't that far off, and we aren't on anyone's timetable other than our own. We can do it.'

Solstice looked up, shock evident in her stormy green eyes and half scarred features. 

'I'm fine with this either way,' the orange-haired navigator said, looking toward Luffy, who had been oddly quiet thus far. 'What do you think, dear captain?'  
'Sure,' Luffy grinned. 'Sounds great to me.'  
'It's close to where we're going,' Ussop chimed in.  
'I know, and it follows a wolf!'  
'Think that's a yes,' Sanji commented.  
 _'You really don't mind changing course and taking me home?'_ she asked.  
'Nope.'

Solstice didn't even try to hide the massive grin that formed across her face. She was going home. She was going to see Oriya, Leto and Nana again! She could hardly contain how happy she was.

_'Thank you,'_ she signed, barely able to believe her luck.

* * *

'Vessel sighted, sir! Straight ahead, 12 o'clock. A mid-sized caravel, the mainmast is flying a flag with a skull mark!' called out the Marine from the Crow's nest.  
'Pirates, huh?' the Lieutenant Commander rolled his eyes. 'Obviously, they ain't worth their salt if they're freely sailing in Commodore Mercer's waters. Leave them. Those scumbags aren't worth our time!'  
'Hate to say you're wrong, Lieutenant, but you're wrong. Dead wrong,' Levi announced, stepping out from the shadows with a shit-eating smirk. 'That flag belongs to none other than Straw Hat Luffy. A man with a 30 million Berry bounty on his head.'  
'What?! The one everyone has been talking about lately?' A Marine spluttered, eyes widened.  
'What I find amusing is that even with a fleet of this size at our disposal, we can't find one little girl. Someone might have nabbed her, yes. Maybe a certain highly skilled pirate that happens to be nearby.'

When he gained nothing but dumbfounded expressions in response to his statement, Levi growled and slammed his foot down.

'Capture those pirates now!'

* * *

Solstice followed Nami out onto the deck, feeling more comfortable being around someone who could actually understand her when she "spoke". 

It hadn't taken long to figure out who could understand her and who could not; Nami knew the most sign language out of the crew, and Sanji only knew a little. Usopp had at least known what sign language was, while Luffy had thought she was playing something called "charades", whatever that was. She wasn't quite sure whether or not Zoro knew what she was signing. Probably not, but she could be wrong.

'Hey! We've got company approaching!' Ussop yelled from the Crow's nest. 'Oh, just our luck! It's the Marines!'  
'Marines?' Nami repeated, shock evident in her voice.  
'And we aren't talking one or two ships either!'

Nami ran over to the railing and looked behind the ship, instantly spotting the fleet of Marine ships off in the distance.

'He's right, but why would the Marine's dispatch a whole fleet to this area?' the navigator asked no-one in particular.

By this point, Luffy, Sanji and Zoro had emerged from the lounge and joined Nami over by the railing. Cautiously - and a bit reluctantly - she walked over to where they were stood.

Surely enough, coming up behind the Going Merry was a fleet of ships from Branch Eight. The girl felt her heart plummet, the colour draining from her face as her stormy green eyes went wide with fear at the sight of the advancing vessels.

'Are they here for my bounty?' Luffy wondered as he stared at the fleet.  
'They wouldn't send this many just for you!' Nami responded.  
'Maybe the Marines think they need a whole fleet to capture me,' Luffy suggested. 'I am kind of amazin-'  
'Shut up, this isn't a joke!' 

Solstice felt sick and could hardly stop her body from trembling at the mere thought of the Marines hurting the Strawhats for helping her and capturing her again. She took a few steps back. Maybe if she hid, the Marines would just move on, and nothing would happen. She could keep them safe.

'Sol? What's wrong?'  
 _'Those are Branch Eight ships,'_ she signed with shaking hands. _'They're who I escaped from.'_

* * *

'Lieutenant-Commander! I've found the girl!' A Marine called out. 'She's standing on the deck of that ship!'  
'What?!' Lieutenant-Commander Caeneus exclaimed.  
'Well, would you look at that? Think of what could have happened had I not been here, Caeneus.' Levi commented, a smug smirk taking shape across his weasel-looking face.  
'Aw, what's the matter? Have I hurt your pride? Don't worry. That won't be anything compared to what Commodore Raven will do to you if you lose his only source of ichor.'

Caeneus clenched his teeth and fists in anger, wanting nothing more than to knock that smug bastard into the next millennia.

'Prepare the main cannons!' The Lieutenant-Commander ordered. 'We'll capture that pirate ship or give it to the bottom of the sea!'

It was extremely fortunate for Levi that Caeneus wasn't able to see the malicious grin that formed across the mercenary's face as he enthusiastically watched everything unfold before him.

* * *

'They're firing at us!!' Ussop cried as he hurried down the rigging.

The boat suddenly lurched violently from side to side as cannonballs crashed into the water a little too close for comfort. Solstice almost let out a scream and fell over as the ship swayed dangerously, but Sanji was quicker and grabbed her before that happened. 

'Attention pirates! You are trespassing in restricted waters and are ordered to stop and surrender immediately!' A Marine called out to them.  
'There's no way we're going to stop for the Marines!' Ussop exclaimed as he clung onto the side of the Going Merry.  
'How do you wanna handle this?' Zoro asked Luffy, hand on his swords. 'Cause I wanna fight 'em.'  
'Then I say, let's fight!' Luffy decided.  
'You're crazy!' Ussop yelled at the two. 'Why must we always fight against impossible odds?!'

As they began arguing about what they were going to do about the Marine ships, Sanji knelt down next to Solstice.

'Sol, go downstairs and wait in the cabin.'

She paused for a moment before she nodded slowly. She would probably just get in the way if there was to be a fight. She wouldn't be much use; she hadn't yet grasped water manipulation like she had earth. She was useless.

_There's a wind coming,_ spoke a little voice in her mind. It made her freeze, her eyes going wide as she looked for its source.

A small group of sea birds had gathered on a rai, one staring intently at her with its beady black eyes. 

_A wind?_ She asked the little creature, stormy green eyes lighting up.

'Sol? What's the matter?' the blond man questioned, wondering why she was still standing on the deck.  
 _'A wind is coming,'_ she repeated the sea birds warning.

_Seems like it'll be a pretty strong one,_ the bird added.

_'He says it's a strong one.'_

'Zoro, lean the sail pointing South!' Nami ordered, having seen enough of what Solstice had signed to quickly figure out how to counter it, before turning to the cook and sniper. 'Ussop and Sanji right rudder full! Get going!'  
'Right!'  
'Yes, Nami.'

The three men rushed to carry out the tasks the ginger woman had issued them, while Luffy, Nami and Solstice remained where they were by the railing.

'What's happening?' Luffy inquired, confused at the change in plan.  
'A gust is coming. We'll ride it out and move on,' Nami stated. 'If we try and take on that fleet head-on, we'll lose no matter how well we fight.'  
'Somebody sounds chicken...' the onyx-haired captain pouted.

Nami looked over her shoulder, and Solstice met her gaze. She felt under scrutiny and quickly averted her eyes away and looked toward anything other than the woman.

Solstice clutched onto the nearest rail as the gust caught the Going Merry's sails. The ship sped away, easily outrunning the fleet of massive Marine ships. 

'Woah! This is fast!' Luffy exclaimed, holding on to his hat as he leaned over the side of the Going Merry. 'We caught a good wind, huh?'  
'We did it, Luffy! Look, the Marines are falling behind!' Ussop laughed, looking back at the receding vessels. 'Haha! I've seen dead snails move faster!!' 

* * *

'It's no use! We can't catch up!'  
'This fleet can't match one small ship? Dimwits!' Levi cursed, stamping his foot in frustration.  
'Smaller ships have the advantage of better mobility,' a Marine informed the irritated merc.  
'I couldn't care less about your excuses! I want results!' the creep snarled, charcoal eyes narrowed.

Caeneus looked just about ready to explode. His whole being quaking with anger as he struggled not to strangle the man.

'Um, Sir? I-it's too dangerous for us to go any further-'  
'I know!' he snapped. 'Attention fleet! All stop, prepare to turn around!'  
'Delay that order!' Levi demanded harshly. 'Why are you stopping the ships?!'  
'Because if we continue on this course, we will get trapped in the calm belt!' Lieutenant-Commander Caeneus snapped, keeping his back to Levi.  
'What does that matter? Go after them!'  
'I will not do that!' he shouted, whipping around to face Levi, brown eyes burning with fury.   
'Do you not understand the dire nature of this mission?' Levi seethed. 'We must capture that girl! Or you can explain the reason for your failure to Commodore Raven yourself!'  
'Then I'll accept my punishment, gladly,' Caeneus stated, squaring up to the lean man. 'But what I won't do is damn this fleet to be swallowed by the sea. Threaten me as much as you wish. You won't change my mind.'  
'You absolute moron,' Levi hissed. 'I'll have your head for this. Just you wait and see!'

* * *

'Hahaha! They aren't following us!' Ussop laughed. 'Old Captain Ussop can even scare a Marine fleet away!'  
'Amazing! Another triumph by our expert navigator!' the dark-headed captain cheered.  
'Well done, Nami, incredible how you detected that wind before it hit,' Sanji complimented the ginger woman.   
'Oh, all I did was pay attention to my gut instinct,' Nami waved off their praises, smiling as she did.  
'Only you could be humble in your perfection,' Sanji swooned, hearts in his eyes.  
'Shall we continue on to Delos Island?' Luffy inquired.  
 _'You mean you're still going to take me?'_ Solstice asked, eyes wide with astonishment.  
'Of course, we are,' Nami answered, smiling down at her.  
'Okay then, to Delos Island! Let's go!!' Ussop exclaimed, Luffy joining in towards the end.

Solstice bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly as she watched the pair dance and mess around on the deck with a massive smile, their excitement rubbing off on her. She hadn't really met anyone with this much energy before. 

She was so distracted by the two that she didn't even notice that the wind had stopped completely, not until Nami let out a scream that made them all look at her in concern.

'Nami, what's wrong?'  
'Are you hurt?'  
'We're screwed...!' Nami cried out. 'We've entered the Calm Belt!'

What now?

Solstice - along with everyone beside Nami, of course, guessing by the confused expressions - had no idea what the Calm Belt was.

'The clam belt?'   
'What the heck is that?'  
' _Calm Belt!_ It's an area of sea where nothing moves a muscle!' Nami exclaimed.  
'So there's muscles _and_ clams?' Luffy asked her.  
'No!' she exclaimed, exasperated by her captain's stupidity.

Solstice froze where she stood as the boat wobbled suddenly. She could feel something - something really, _really_ big - moving in the waters below. She couldn't usually sense movement in the water, and she didn't understand how she was doing it now, but whatever was moving down there didn't feel right. 

'What was that? An earthquake?' Luffy wondered, looking around.  
'A good trick since we're at sea,' Zoro retorted.  
'All of this chit-chat isn't going to get us out of here,' Nami spoke up once more before giving out her orders. 'Fold the sails and start paddling now! We have to get back on course!'  
'You can count on me!' the blond cook exclaimed, hearts flying from his eyes.  
'Don't panic, and besides, this is a sailboat. Why would we need to paddle?' Zoro questioned, arms folded and a scowl present on his features.   
'True, and why would we go through the trouble of doubling back when the Marines are waiting for us?' Ussop added.  
'Look, there's no time to argue, just shut up and do as I say!' Nami commanded, her voice raised.   
'At least it's nice and quiet here,' Luffy mentioned, Ussop agreeing with him.  
'Fine! If I have to explain it to you, I will,' Nami yelled. 'In our haste to escape the Marines, we ended up going too far South and now are off course and stuck out here!'  
'South?' Luffy repeated. 'So, we entered the Grand Line?'  
'All right!' the sniper beside him cheered, jumping for joy.  
'If we're at the Grand Line, you think I'd waste my time explaining this!?' Nami shouted at them.

Everyone walked over to where Nami stood as she laid out a map for them to see. She pointed to a section on the map labelled "Grand Line", then gestured to the two green spaces on either side of it.

'Now, look. The Grand Line is sandwiched between these two green areas you see here. You got that? These areas, just as they're labelled, are what's called the Calm Belt. That's where we are,' the navigator explained hastily. 'Nobody knows why, but inside the Calm Belt, there is no wind and no current. It's like a void where everything is stagnant. Given that sailboats move by catching winds, this is more than a dangerous region; it can be fatal! You get it?'  
'Nope,' Luffy answered quickly. 'But it sounds like we're in big trouble.'  
'Good! You retained more than I thought you would!' Nami retorted.  
'So, this is what that old geezer meant when he said it was dangerous,' Sanji commented.  
'Well, that explains why we haven't gotten a single gust of wind,' the green-haired swordsman noted.  
'How are we gonna get out of this if our ship can't move?' Ussop questioned.  
'Maybe the wind will start blowing again?' Luffy suggested, sounding hopeful.  
'The wind never blows in the Calm Belt,' Nami reminded the captain. 'And that isn't all. There's another good reason why people call this area dangerous. It's infested with-'

Before she could finish what she was going to say, the ship began to sway wildly.

'What was that?' Ussop asked, the fear in his voice clear as day.

No one had a chance to reply as the Going Merry was thrust upwards by something as it emerged from the sea. Solstice stumbled over her feet and collided with the railing, grasping onto it for dear life as the boat continued to rock. She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, stopping herself from letting out the scream that bubbled in her throat.

All around them, countless colossal sea monsters sprouted out of the sea like daisies. The Going Merry rested on the tip of the black and white sea kings snout, raising them high above the water.

'The Calm Belt is also the home of the sea kings,' Nami sobbed, hugging the mast as tears streamed down her face. 'It's their main place for breeding. They're another reason why people can't cross the Calm Belt.'

Everyone was frozen where they stood, fearful that if they even moved an inch, the monsters would strike and swallow them and the boat whole.

'Any idea how we get out of this?' Sanji asked stiffly.  
'Yes, everybody, don't move a muscle,' Zoro advised. 'We don't want to give them any reason to stick around and eat us. Once they're gone, we'll paddle back.'  
'You call that a plan!?' Ussop screeched as he clung to the mast for dear life.  
'Shut up!' Nami snapped, slapping her hand over Ussop's mouth to prevent him from drawing the attention of the monsters surrounding them any further than they already had.  
'Sorry.'

Solstice, timidly, peeked over the side of the ship, careful not to catch the eye of any of the sea kings surrounding them. She thought herself rather brave, but she certainly wasn't quite brave enough to even attempt to communicate with these monsters. Had her mother been here, she would have had those creatures whimpering like scolded puppies. She was much scarier than she was.

A dreadful rumbling sound filled the air as the sea king's snout twitched, tilting the Going Merry dangerously close to the edge of the beast's nose.

'That doesn't improve anything!'  
'It sound's like it's gonna-'  
'I think this behemoth's gonna sneeze!'  
'Get ready. We're going for a ride!!'

With that, the sea king let loose the hugest, loudest sneeze that any of them had ever heard and launched the Going Merry back the way it had come as if it were nothing more than a mere skipping stone, sending them flying through the air in the process, screaming all the way.

'THERE'S GOTTA BE A BETTER WAY!!'  
'Oh, wow! It feels like we're flying!' Luffy grinned as they sailed through the air.   
'In case you haven't noticed, we _are_ flying!' Ussop cried. 

The adrenaline rush that Solstice felt was almost like nothing she had ever felt before. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as if it were trying to break through and escape her body. Her stomach twisted, leaving her feeling like she was about to throw up. She clamped her hands over her mouth to stop any sound coming out, or vomit, whichever came first.

When the Merry re-entered the ocean, she swept up a massive wave of saltwater and sent her crew crashing back onto the deck, effectively knocking the wind out of them. 

Solstice curled up into a ball on the deck, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, in a similar state as the rest of the crew as they recovered from that whole ordeal.

It took a few minutes before any of them got back on their feet. By that point, the ship had started drifting in the direction they had come from.

'Looks like we landed back where we started,' Nami commented, relief obvious in her voice.  
'Yeah, no sign of the Marine's either,' Zoro added.  
'I thought I was a goner,' Ussop almost wept, still not having stood up from the deck.  
'Okay! Set the sails!' Luffy exclaimed excitedly, throwing his arm into the air.  
'And our destination is...' Nami alluded, despite already knowing the answer.  
'Where else?' the captain grinned widely. 'Delos Island!!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys, gals and non-binary pals, it's me, your (kinda) friendly neighbourhood gremlin.
> 
> Kudos and comments feed my soul. Hits motivate me.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm really gonna work hard and make updates more consistent.  
> Feel free to check out my Tumblr, where I will be posting artwork I have made for my stories and various other things, such as updates and random little things my brain has come up with: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/elysian-abyss  
> I think that's everything. Hope you all are doing okay and are staying safe during these times. ^J^


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